The Boston Marathon bombers: whose faces are they?

As Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is formally charged by the prosecutors in Boston Marathon bombing, and details about the background of the lethal fraternal pair emerge, there is a wave of internal unrest within the Muslim community, signifying frustrations and shock.

A community activist circulated on his e-list two days ago:“… Islam and being Muslim had nothing whatsoever to do with these two young men. They hadn’t been raised Muslim…. Saying that they were Muslim is like calling New York’s mass murderer David Berkowitz (the ‘Son of Sam’ serial killer) is Jewish …. When the Sikh temple was attacked and 6 people killed, when the Arizona political rally was shot up and 6 people were murdered, when the movie theater was bombed and 12 people were slain, when the elementary school was taken hostage and 26 people were butchered, and when the college campus was rocked by a lone gunman and 32 students were massacred …. Take religion out of this equation and you will find two similar young men with obvious psychological issues…”

But this reasoning fades in the face of the counter-argument that unlike Tsarnaev, the perpetrators of all of the above violent incidences that resulted in the loss and scarring of precious innocent lives never professed their faith as the impetus to such violence.

Terrorism and violence has come to be a trait of humans in this time and age. But why kill in the name of a faith?

In the backdrop of condemnations of this incident by Muslim organizations I questioned at least a dozen individuals in an effort to brain-storm as to why such calamities continue to happen. The responses can be summarized as follows: Lack of knowledge within Muslims about their own faith; a void of insight about its true spirit; and engulfing of the youth in its politicization, which have twisted its injunction to serve the vested interests.

A path for a step in the right direction was presented by the Imam delivering the Friday, April 19 prayer sermon at a local mosque, quoted by San Antonio Express-News Staff Writer, Abe Levy: “Every single one of us in here knows our religion doesn’t allow these actions….But we need to tell our youth the same message. … Our kids need to learn that for whatever reason they are angry, you’re not allowed to take out your frustrations and anger in violent ways.”

We need to realize two simple truths. First, the radicals may be a determined and violent species, but they do not represent any faith. To believe otherwise lends them legitimacy. And second, they may have continued to strike back, but are ultimately bound to diminish and disintegrate in the face of a unanimous response from the society, and a world that is very tired of their menace.

Nazli Siddiqui

Note: This is an mySA.com City Brights Blog. These blogs are not written or edited by mySA or the San Antonio Express-News. The authors are solely responsible for the content.

AboutNazli Siddiqui

Nazli Siddiqui defines the new world as our home planet. As technology and social media continue to expand our bounds, she focuses on the world events, cultures and people, and how they effect us at home.